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Margaret Ann Nolan (29 October 1943 – 5 October 2020) was an English actress, visual artist and glamour model. She appeared in '' Goldfinger'', '' A Hard Day's Night'' and six '' Carry On'' films, and also regularly appeared on screen from the 1960s to the 1980s.


Early life

Nolan was born in
Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
, London. Her mother Molly (née O'Sullivan) was an English nurse and her father Jack was an Irish army clerk. They spent the duration of the Second World War in
County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...
in Ireland until the war ended in 1945 before returning to Hampstead. Nolan began training as a teacher but began dating Tom Kempinski, who was acting with the National Theatre Company at the time and persuaded her to begin a career in acting.


Career


Modelling career

Margaret Nolan began her career as a model. As her glamour modelling career took off, she was briefly known as Vicky Kennedy in the early 1960s.


Acting career

Nolan reverted to her birth name as soon as she began to find acting roles, appearing in numerous television shows, theatre productions and films. The latter included '' A Hard Day's Night'' with
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, '' Ferry Cross the Mersey'' with
Gerry and the Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early successes helped make ...
, and
Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), ''Les Visiteurs du Soi ...
's '' Three Rooms in Manhattan''. Nolan also appeared in one of the first episodes of the television spy thriller '' The Saint'' with
Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...
. Nolan played the role of Dink, Bond's masseuse, in the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film '' Goldfinger'' released in 1964. She was also painted gold and wore a gold bikini for
Robert Brownjohn Robert Brownjohn (August 8, 1925 – August 1, 1970) was an American graphic designer known for blending formal graphic design concepts with wit and 1960s pop culture. He is best known for his motion picture title sequences, especially ''From ...
's title-sequence, advertisements and soundtrack-cover (not Shirley Eaton as in the narrative of the film). This led to photographs in ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine's ''James Bond's Girls'' edition of November 1965. In the film '' Carry On at Your Convenience'' (1971), composer Eric Rogers referenced Nolan's ''Goldfinger'' affiliation by using its three-note motif on a close-up of her. Nolan appeared on the front cover of both the US and UK versions of the 2005 book ''Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography''. In 2012, Nolan gave her first interview concerning her experiences as the model. Asked if the imagery liberates or celebrates womanhood, Nolan responded that:
It does celebrate the physical form. If I'd been nude it might have been about liberation because up to that point you wouldn't have seen a nude woman in a publicly visible thing like that. I could have been very pretentious and said this is liberating. But because I was dressed-up anyway I didn't get that sense.
It became the first film-title to be shown in installation at
MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, New York (2012). On appearing in Michael Pertwee's farce '' She's Done It Again'' at London's
Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...
in 1969, Nolan was described as combining "a long list of physical attractions with a talent that has contributed to the success of many films and television plays". She was known for five BBC series with
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
and in 2013 published a short essay on her time working with him. Nolan gave a live reading of the work at the
Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...
in Covent Garden, reviewed by ''What's On London'' as a "deeply-personal memoir... her performance simply magical." She spoke of her awareness of Milligan's depressive character but also of their friendly working relationship; noting that "Professionally, he taught me that timing is what makes things funny. Timing is crucial." Nolan was cast in several Carry On films including ''
Carry On Girls ''Carry On Girls'' is a 1973 British comedy film, the 25th release in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film features regulars Sid James, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butter ...
'' (1973). The film contains the scene of Nolan (in a silver bikini) and
Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.
cat-fighting on a hotel floor. Nolan also appeared in serious theatre, motivated by political themes. In 2011, Nolan's work as a comedy actress was recognised with her name included on Gordon Young's ''Comedy Carpet'' installation in front of
Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in P ...
. Also in 2011, Nolan returned to the screen after a gap of nearly three decades. She starred in a role especially written for her by Ann Cameron, in Yvonne Deutschman's ''The Power of Three''. In 2019,
Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical Film genre, genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zo ...
cast her in his 2021 film '' Last Night in Soho''. It was Nolan's final film appearance.


Art career

In 1991, Nolan moved to
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
in Spain to a rural farmhouse in the mountains where she practised
permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using Systems theory, whole-systems thinking. It applies t ...
. It was here that she became a visual artist. As a visual artist, Nolan produced graphic and sometimes grotesque photo-montages assembled from cut-outs of her early publicity photographs. These pieces concern "a unique and personal dialogue intrinsically related to a view of a woman and how a woman is viewed." She exhibited in London at venues including the Brick Lane Gallery (2009), The Misty Moon Gallery (2013) and Gallery Different (2013), whilst a screen-print is held by Kemistry Gallery. In 2007, Nolan moved back to London. In 2009, early publicity shots of Nolan inspired screen-prints by Brighton-based graffiti artist Hutch. Nolan's work in photo-montage was also selected for the front cover of ''Playerist'' poetry magazine (No. 2, 2012). In 2013, her artworks featured in the group show ''equals: exploring feminism through art and conversation'' at Blankspace Manchester; the press release quoting that: "Her voice carries alongside universal debate on socio-sexual hierarchies in the age of mass media."


Personal life and death

Nolan was married to English playwright Tom Kempinski in 1967 and divorced in 1972. They had two sons. Nolan died of cancer on 5 October 2020 at her home in
Belsize Park Belsize Park is a residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, in the Inner London, inner North West London, north-west of London, England. The residential streets are lined with Georgian and Victorian villas and mews houses. ...
, London, at age 76. She had sought to write a memoir with
Paul Stenning Paul David Stenning (born 12 June 1976) is an English author and ghostwriter. He has written twenty-nine books, of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and biography. The best-known of his books is ''The Robert Pattinson Album'', a biography of Robert P ...
.


Filmography

Nolan's acting career covers works in television and cinema.The filmography section (unless otherwise stated) is supported by the following sources: * * * * *


Film


Television


Theatre


References


Bibliography

* Hadoke, T (2020)
Margaret Nolan obituary
' Guardian Media Group * King, E (2005) ''Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography 1925–1970'' UK: King . US: Princeton * Mele, C (2020)

' The New York Times Company * Ross, R (1996) ''The Carry On Companion'' Batsford * Ross, R (1999) Carry On' Uncensored'' Boxtree * Ross, R (2011) Carry On' Actors'' Apex * Sheridan, R (2007) ''Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema'' Reynolds and Hearn * Slidel, M (2012)

' Playerist No. 2, Martin Slidel * Snelgrove, K (2008) ''Official Carry On Facts, Figures and Statistics'' Apex * Webber, R (2008) ''Fifty Years of Carry On'' Century


External links

*
Margaret Nolan 2007 interview at "Den of Geek" website


{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Margaret 1943 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actors from the London Borough of Camden Actresses from London Deaths from cancer in England English female models English film actresses English people of Irish descent English stage actresses English television actresses British glamour models Models from the London Borough of Camden People from Belsize Park People from Hampstead British collage artists British women collage artists